As the conflicts in Israel continue to escalate, even a free trip there is becoming a hard sell.

Birthright Israel, which provides free 10-day trips to Israel for young Jewish people, has been forced to make adjustments to their program in order to keep their participant numbers up.

"We've taken 27,000 people in the last two years," Birthright Israel spokesman Joe Wagner said. "We want to continue with the success of the program."

The U.S. State Department issued a warning last Tuesday to all Americans living in Jerusalem and urged Americans to defer travel to Israel. Dependants of diplomats have also been encouraged to return to America.

"The potential for further terrorist acts remains high," the State Department's warning said. "The situation in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza remains extremely volatile with continuing terrorist attacks, confrontations and clashes."

Despite the current warnings, Birthright Israel is still planning on continuing with its spring and summer trips.

"We are monitoring the situation in Israel on a daily basis very carefully," Wagner said. "People have to realize that there are five million people in Israel getting up every day and going to work. Life is going on even in the midst of all the turmoil."

Birthright Israel has stepped up its recruiting process to encourage people to make the trip by sending representatives to colleges nationwide and sending letters to rabbis asking them to urge members of their congregations to participate.

"We realize it is a personal decision that parents and students need to make on an individual basis. If anyone decides that the situation is not safe enough, that is their choice to make," Wagner said.

Last Tuesday, the University of California recalled its students studying abroad in Israel and put the fall academic program on hold. Twenty-eight of the university's students had already abandoned their studies there.

"When we have students studying abroad, the top priority of (the university) is those students' safety," California spokesman Hanan Eisenman said. "We felt that the safety situation would be best if students were called home."

Most California students who return from Israel will enter an independent study situation in which they will be able to complete their course work from their foreign university. Eisenman emphasized that UC is only putting their Israel program on hold while safety issues continue.

"We're not abandoning our program in Israel whatsoever. California felt that in this case, the escalating violence made this a prudent decision," he said.